Archive for the ‘Musings’ category
March 5, 2018
I am reminded of the scene in War Games when it appeared as if ballistic missiles had destroyed bases in the US. Using the radio, the general asked the radio operator at one base if anyone was there: if anyone was left alive. There was silence then a voice, “We’re still here. We’re still here.” Well, I’m still here too. I have no idea if the powers that be have commuted my death sentence. I think so, but I could be off by a day or two.
My morning was a busy one. I was out early to finish two errands. I was thinking about rewarding my efforts with coffee and a donut, a Boston cream donut, from Dunkin’, but I decided to go home, put the coffee on and get comfortable.
The weather is still ugly. The day is chilly and raw. We have clouds and wind gusts. Some people are still without electricity. Another nor’easter is coming this week but will be far less destructive as the moon is no longer full. We could get rain or even snow.
I used to love to play jacks. Every Christmas in my stocking and most Easters in my basket I’d get a new set of jacks. I’d sit on the floor and toss the ball then hurry to pick up the jacks, starting with onesies. For some reason all the numbers were like that. After onesies came twosies then threesies then on and on. The throw was always the key. Another small favorite toy was the wooden paddle with the red rubber ball attached by an elastic. At first I’d be totally frustrated. I’d hit the ball, and it would fly back and hit me in the face or some other part of my body. Sometimes I’d get so frustrated I’d even throw the paddle but then I’d always pick it up and try again and eventually I’d coordinate my eye and hand. My mother sent me one of those when I was in the Peace Corps. My friends and I would stand in the back of one of our houses and have contests. We got really good and paddled into the hundred’s. It was, until the elastic broke, one of our favorite diversions. We didn’t need much to keep us occupied.
In Ghana, the day started early and ended early. It was in the evening that my friends and I would get together. We always ate supper together. The table and chairs were brought outside during the dry season. When it got dark, we’d go inside. We played word games and listened to music. Once in a while they’d be a movie in town at the Hotel d’Bull. It was usually really old or Indian, but we didn’t care. It was a grand night on the town.
I never got bored in Ghana. What I didn’t have didn’t matter. Living there was more than enough.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Alive, Boston Cream donut, busy, cloudy, cod, dry season, Dunkin', errands, games, jacks, movies, paddle ball, Peace Corps Ghana, raw, still here, War Games
Comments: 16 Comments
March 4, 2018
My hopes are high that Coffee will be here tomorrow. If not, remember to go to www.keepthecoffeecoming.blogspot.com as I’ll be waiting there for you.
Today is damp but lighter than it has been. The sun is working to get out of the clouds. I’m its most ardent cheerleader. There is still wind which makes the day feel even colder. I think it rained during the night as the sides of the street were still wet this morning when I got the papers, the dry papers. I can’t fault a day which starts with dry papers.
When I was a kid, Sunday was always boring. It followed the same regimen every week. Eat breakfast, put on church clothes, walk to church, go home and hang around until Sunday dinner, the most lavish meal of the week. It always included a roast of some sort, potatoes and vegetables. The potatoes were mashed and the vegetables, except for the carrots, came from cans. Those fresh vegetables, the carrots and the potatoes, were always boiled. We never had salad, and we never had bread on the table. A roast of beef as my grandmother called it is still my favorite.
My mother grocery shopped on Friday nights. As she had no license, my father drove her. They’d return with a trunk load of filled paper bags. The only foods we, my brother, sisters and I, cared about were the cookies. We knew they’d be Oreos and sometimes chocolate chip cookies or some other kind. We’d want them right away, and my mother would warn us that once they were gone, they’d be no more. We were kids. We were in the moment. We wanted the cookies.
I have grown my palate since I was a kid. Canned vegetables will never grace (sort of grace) my table. I like to cook potatoes all different ways, but I love mashed potatoes covered in gravy the most. I love carrots, and I experiment when I cook them. The last recipe called for ginger. My favorite is honeyed carrots. I use the baby carrots still with their greenery.
I just heard a loud crash which seemed to come from my deck. I ran outside but saw nothing except the man in the house behind mine burning leaves in a barrel. What I saw made me laugh. The wind is taking the burning leaves, and they are falling on the carpet of leaves in the guy’s yard. Small fires start, and he goes around with his rake putting the fires out. Maybe this will teach him why burning leaves is illegal.
Categories: Musings
Tags: canned vegetables, carrots, cloudy, Cookies, damp, grocery shopping, honey carrots, oreos, potatoes, Roasts, Sunday dinner, Sunday papers, windy
Comments: 8 Comments
March 3, 2018
The mighty storm continues with wind gusts strong enough to bend trees almost to the ground. Last night the storm was tremendous with winds blowing as high as 80 MPH. The rain came in sheets from the north. The roar of the wind sounded threatening, almost violent. My house was surrounded by it. I heard something fall on the deck but it was too dark to see. The yard lights were triggered. My house lights went out once but for only a few minutes. The cable kept going off then rebooting. That lasted close to an hour. I went to bed around one, and the storm was as strong as it had been all night. I could hear the rain beating the roof. I could hear the wind. It was the last sound I heard before I fell asleep, and the first sound I heard when I woke up this morning.
When I got the papers, I saw my Peace Corps flag on the lawn. The flag was fine, but the holder had snapped. It was on the grass. A tree was broken and lying in the front yard. It was a small, thin scrub pine. Luckily it missed my little library. When I got the papers, they were far too heavy. I knew they had to be wet. Because they were protected by only a single plastic bag, both were soaked, unreadable. That spoiled my morning routine. I know the papers are on line, but that doesn’t do it for me. I like the feel of the paper and the rustling of the pages.
My backyard has large branches torn from trees lying on the ground. All of the branches are from pine trees. I know a few of the trees are dead so I wasn’t surprised to see their branches. Every year I seem to lose a pine tree or two.
My little library had two more woodpecker holes. I covered both with tape until more permanent covers are ready. I need to find the wood and then measure for the right length screws. At least this time there wasn’t a dead bird.
The sky is light and the rain has stopped, at least for now. It is in the low 40’s but will go below freezing tonight. I’m staying home. I have finished the last Flavia de Luce book I have, but I have two books I got for Christmas. Peapod came yesterday so my larder is full with real food and some snacks. I’m thinking wearing my cozies, lounging on the couch, reading a new book and eating chips and cheese dip. Life is good!
Categories: Musings
Tags: 80 MPH, backyard lights, branches, broken flag pole, deck, downed trees, mighty storm, rain, roar of the wind, violent, wind gusts
Comments: 6 Comments
March 2, 2018
The tops of trees bend down left and right. I’ll be surprised if I don’t see branches lying in the yard. The rain pours. Nearer the coast the houses are being battered, and the roads are flooding. Some are closed. The risk of losing electricity is high. I am drawn to the windows to watch the trees and the sheets of rain. The storm is fascinating.
Sometimes I’d go to the beach when the winds were especially high. I’d stand with my arms out and let the wind take me. It was exhilarating. Later today the wind could get around 76 MPH. The tides are historically high. The waves are twenty to thirty feet. There are two more high tides with the dangerous one around midnight. I’d like to be there, at the beach, but I know with my history a tree would fall on me or my car or both.
Last night I got ready for Peapod, but the truck never came. I checked my e-mail, and delivery is scheduled for today. Last night’s supper was dependent on groceries so I had to punt. I had bought Eastham turnip already peeled and cut. I cooked it. It was delicious, almost sweet. The only drawback is turnip smells gross to me when it is cooking. It is like cabbage in that respect.
I slept in this morning which surprised me as I had gone to sleep early for me, around midnight. I had finished my book and was sorry I hadn’t brought up the next book in the series, the last one I have. I could have gone back down the stairs to get the book, but I turned out the light instead.
My arm still hurts. I have to type with my laptop actually on my lap and my arm resting on the arm of the couch. If the laptop is on the table, the angle is wrong, and my arm hurts almost immediately. I still have 5 or 6 weeks to go.
Today is a stay inside and just take it easy day. I do need to change my bed, but I’m not looking forward to doing that almost one handedly, maybe tomorrow, maybe not.
I’m going to start my book. I’m going to put my feet up and get comfortable. I’m going to eat some chocolate. I think it will be a wonderful day.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Beach, broken arm, change bed, flooding, groceries, heavy rain, high tides, Nor'easter, smell, turnip, waves, Wind
Comments: 4 Comments
March 1, 2018
As usual, while my coffee was brewing, I went out to get the papers. The morning is glorious. It is warm, and the air smells fresh and sweet. The birds are singing. I stayed outside a while taking in the beauty and then I saw it. A bright yellow crocus has bloomed in my front garden. Spring has arrived. If I could click my heels in the air, I would.
Tomorrow will be quite different. A nor’easter is on its way. A high wind warning is in effect for the Cape from Friday morning to Saturday morning with winds possibly as high as 65 to 75 MPH. The rain will come down in torrents, and there are flood warnings. The moon will be full and three high tides will occur between Friday and Saturday with the highest tide coming in the middle of the storm. I need to batten down the hatches, but first I’ll enjoy today.
I have no lists so I feel a bit at sea. Peapod is coming so the grocery list is empty. My house is clean, and the laundry can wait a few days. I guess I could tackle chores I’ve been thinking about like organizing the kitchen or sorting my DVD’s with an eye to the summer and movie nights, but I’d feel guilty wasting a day like today. I think I’ll take a ride.
Reading has always been one of my big loves. I keep a book upstairs, a book downstairs and one in my car for those long traffic stops. My mother told me I loved Henny Penny, and she had to read it over and over to me when I was little. Figures, it’s the end of the world sort of, a bit of science fiction, and animals run amok. It sounds like the plots of books I’m still reading. I remember reading Little Woman and loving it. I got it for Christmas when I was in the fifth grade, and that was the year we were bussed to another town for school so I’d read it all the way there and all the way back. Jo was my hero. I find now I read a whole series by the same author. Currently I am reading the Flavia de Luce book series and am on book five, Speaking from Among the Bones. The books were recommended by friends.
I think I’ll stop and have my favorite sandwich today, the one with bacon and cheddar, avocado, tomatoes and horseradish sauce. I’m smacking my lips already.
Categories: Musings
Tags: avocado, Flavia de Luce, flood warnings, high tides, kitchen, lists, Nor'easter, Peapod, rain, spring, sweet smells, warm, yellow crocus
Comments: 6 Comments
February 27, 2018
The sun is beautiful and warm today. It is in the forties and will get even warmer each day, into the 50’s, until Friday when it will be in the 40’s again, and a nor’easter may be making its way here with heavy winds and lots of rain.
My deck seems to have been the place to be for all the spawns of Satan. Over Christmas I had four strands of lights strung on the top of the deck rail. They were beautiful shining through the blackness of the backyard but then after Christmas the strands started to go dark, one at a time. I just left them there. Skip, my factotum, is here today to put the outside lights away and do a few more chores for me. He took each set of lights and tested it. Every one of the deck rail strands did not work. The spawns of Satan had bitten through the light wires and in a couple of cases had even taken a piece of wire with them as the plug ends were missing.
The cover for the barbecue is missing. We’re talking a large cover. It had a section missing as it had been chewed and taken away by a spawn, but the rest was still covering the grill. I had put a couple of bricks on top to keep it from blowing away. A few days ago, I was outside on the deck for the first time in a while and noticed no cover. I checked the yard, no cover. I checked under the deck, no cover. I am totally amazed by its disappearance. Perhaps it was a spawn army doing night maneuvers or a backyard thief who came through the gate and stole the cover then made his way through the darkness to his getaway car.
I have no neighbors on one side of my house. It is a summer rental. Across the street my neighbors have their shades down, and I seldom see them. Herb has Alzheimer’s and his wife is his caretaker. On the other side is the house of family whom I get to see every now and then. They’re always after me to visit so I sometimes do. I am up late. The rest of my neighbors are not.
I have just heard that my little library has a hole in the wood. It did one other time when a bird got inside but couldn’t ‘t get out. I’m hoping for nothing dead this time.
This is a slow week for me, a totally empty dance card. Today I’m staying in my cozy clothes and will go through catalogues and magazines then start a new book. It’s a lazy day, my favorite kind of day!
Categories: Musings
Tags: chewed wires, cover, lights, missing barbecue, Nor'easter, spawns of Satan, sun
Comments: 10 Comments
February 25, 2018
All I have to rely on is my memory of the sun. It was here for a short time yesterday then the clouds took over the sky. It is raining now. I can hear it falling on the roof and that was the first sound I heard when I woke up. It will be in the mid-40’s today and will probably stay rainy. I have a couple of errands including the dump. This is the second time in a row it has rained on dump day. I’d wait until a better day, but the dump will close today and won’t open again until Thursday.
I have a pile of boxes ready for the dump recycle bin. Most of them are small. They have been coming all week as I have ordered all sorts of stuff from all sorts of places. Some stuff is for Easter while other stuff is for Christmas and one is for me, a new shirt bought at an end to winter sale.
I remember when boxes were as much fun as any toy. Big boxes from appliances became forts or hideouts. We’d bring pillows, a flashlight and a few provisions inside and stay in our fort all afternoon. We’d make a window with a three quarter cut on the side. It was the perfect spot from which to keep watch. Sometimes I’d even decorate and use crayons to make curtains. For some reason they were always red.
Shoe boxes were the best of all. They held treasures and were hidden away, usually under the bed. I remember one of mine held those two Scotties, the black and the white ones, which were magnets. I used to put the dogs’ noses together so they’d repel each other. Shells gathered on a summer afternoon at the beach were in the box and so was a starfish and smooth flat stones. Marbles sometimes made it. My favorites were the clear ones with colored pieces in the middle which always sort of looked like parts of a feather. Birthday cards, pins and CrackerJack’s prizes were also in the box. Most times stuff was added and seldom removed. Often, I’d pull the box out from under the bed then sit on the bed and lovingly take my treasures out of the box one by one. I always thought them treasures of great measure.
Categories: Musings
Tags: boxes, forts, hideouts, marbles, memory, prizes, rain, shells, shoe boxes, stuff, sun, treasures
Comments: 10 Comments
February 24, 2018
Today is glorious. It is sunny and warmer than it has been. When I got the papers, I stood a while and listened. The birds were singing. I was thrilled at the sound. Nothing says spring more than birds welcoming the day. We will have showers later, but I’m okay with that. We have sun, if only for a while!
Yesterday it rained again but on and off as I went home from my appointment. I drove down Route 28 and stopped at Jerry’s. I have history with Jerry’s. I started going there when I was in high school when the original Jerry was the owner and the cook. It had take-out windows, and Jerry screamed at us if we, in any way, blocked the windows. “Get out of the way. Get out of the way!” Jerry’s was open all year, a rarity in those days, in the mid-1960’s. It is still open all year, and the only difference from back then is there are no take out windows and Jerry is long gone. I ordered a shrimp plate and substituted the fries with onion rings. From where I was sitting, I could watch the cook. I watched him breading then frying my lunch. When he delivered my plate, it was full. I was delighted and snagged a shrimp right away. It was so hot from the frying, I grabbed my drink to cool my mouth. I waited a bit then dove into my onion rings and another shrimp. They were sublime.
I love hot dogs. I love to toast my rolls by slathering the sides with butter and cooking them in the frying pan. The rolls open at the top so the sides can perfectly toast. My hot dogs are usually fried. Sometimes though I steam them. When they are done, I add my toppings. Chopped onions, piccalilli, some sort of mustard and sometimes jalapeños are my toppings of choice. I always have a jar of sliced jalapeños in the fridge as I usually add them to my sandwiches and eggs.
I think I’ll go out later. I have no destination in mind. I’ll just keep moving until some place catches my eye then I’ll stop.
Categories: Musings
Tags: hot, hot dog roll, hot dogs, jalapeños, Jerry's, Mustard, onion rings, piccalilli, rain, Route 28, shrimp plate, sunny, take-out, warmer
Comments: 12 Comments
February 23, 2018
Earlier this morning the sun was bright and was set in a blue, cloudless sky. Since then the clouds have taken over and hidden the sun. I’m beginning to think Mother Nature is really upset with us and is being vindictive, but I don’t know why. All I can hope is the sun fights through those clouds.
Last night we must have had a few flurries as the deck chair cover still had a bit of white on top this morning. It may rain tonight or the flurries might return.
I have a doctor’s appointment today which will get me out of the house again. I’m thinking afterwards I’ll go the long way home and go down Route 28. Maybe an open store will catch my eye, and I’ll stop.
I get bored with winter around this time every year. I’m tired of hibernating. I sit around most days in my comfy winter lay around the house outfit and read, go through cook books, randomly dust or polish and sometimes nap. All my laundry is even clean, all three bags. I also look through catalogs and check out the winter sale items. I bought a flannel shirt for myself yesterday and a Christmas present for a friend.
A favorite fish restaurant is now open for the season. I’m salivating at the thought of fried clams and onion rings. I’m thinking that my Route 28 excursion could very well end at that restaurant.
I’m watching a really bad Japanese movie from 1965 called Invasion of Astro-Monster. The only non-Japanese cast member is Nick Adams. He speaks English while all the others speak Japanese. The movie is dubbed. I think by watching this I have sunk to a new level of bad movies.
Two things are missing. One is the cat’s ceramic dish. I put it away somewhere and can’t find it. I looked in all my usual places and a few crazy ones like the oven and the napkin drawer. I was actually glad the dish wasn’t in either spot. The other missing item is a decorative tin which was once filled at Christmas with peanut butter balls. It was on the top of a cabinet for weeks then I moved it. I have no idea where it is, probably with the dish.
Broken bones and memory lapses!!! I’d better print my name and address on the tags in all my shirts.
Categories: Musings
Tags: catalogs, clean laundry, Clouds, flurries, hibernating, Invasion of Astro-Monster, Japanese movie, Nick Adams, rain, sun
Comments: 42 Comments
February 22, 2018
For two days Boston has hit 70˚. We hit a high of 55˚. The sun has deserted us. It is cloudy again and damp and chilly. Last night it rained a little. I was lying in bed reading and heard what I thought at first was a mouse gnawing. It wasn’t. It was the patter of rain falling quite slowly at first then more heavily, but it quickly stopped.
Yesterday I went to the deck and did a bit of cleanup. I also filled the bird feeders. The cover for the barbecue has disappeared. I checked the yard from the deck but didn’t go under the deck. My first thought was an army of squirrels has set up camp somewhere close and my cover, which already had a huge section chewed off, was perfect for their tents. Two bricks were on the top to prevent the cover from blowing off. I found those on the deck. Maybe a spawn of Satan will be back to get the bricks for their camp walkway.
I actually cleaned most of this room. I polished and washed all the curios on shelves. I did such a good job I need sunglasses now because everything shines. I also caught up with the laundry. I feel accomplished.
When I sleep, I look a bit like a question mark as I still make room for Gracie to sleep beside me.
When I was a kid, my town was my world. I never thought it was small. Uptown had wonderful stores, and the library and the post office anchored the beginning and the end of the square. Some days the square smelled like fresh bread from Hank’s Bakery or popcorn from the candy makers behind the square. O’Grady’s Diner was across the street from the library. Once in a while, my father took me to breakfast there. We sat at a booth with red vinyl seating. I used to beg for dimes or a quarter to play the juke box. Every booth had a small box, and I’d turn the pages in our booth to find a favorite song. On Saturday mornings seats at the counter were mostly filled with all men. Saturday was their errand day with stops at the Chinamen, the barber and maybe the drug store or the Redmen then finally the diner. I loved my little uptown
Categories: Musings
Tags: 55˚, Barbecue, booth, cleaned, cloudy, deck, diner, dust, dusted, juke box, Laundry, rain, spawn of satan, squirrels, tents, washed
Comments: 6 Comments
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